Telecalling Secrets Revealed

In any business, the way they treat their customers is of utmost importance.

Telecallers are those employees of the companies who deal with customers like the telemarketing executives who are involved in the sales as well as they are spreading awareness about the product.

No matter what product you select, your business will grow and prosper only when you have a strong customer pool and customer loyalty and for that, you should be prepared to engage your customers and attract them and telemarketing will be the perfect solution for this.

For any customer-centric business, you need a dedicated telecalling facility with an up to date telemarketing software.

Without the latest telemarketing CRM, your business will not be able to grow to its full potential and will also give your competitors an edge over you.

There are several cutting-edge technologies that are available in the marketplace and you have to choose the one that best fits your need.

These days even the option to customize the tool based on your need is available.

Here we will tell you all that you need to know about telecalling and all the relevant details that you would need to know for your business.

What is the role of a telecalling/telemarketing executive in BPO’s?

The following can be briefly assumed to be the roles of a telecalling/telemarketing executive –

They are the main employees responsible for communication within the organization.

They are accountable for responding to client queries, questions, understanding and fulfilling their needs, taking feedback, noting their grievances and also marketing the products/services of the company.

Apart from this, they will also be in charge of converting prospects into clients and create a positive impact on them.

This job covers a lot of areas and hence these executives are required to be the best in the business and are able to create a positive influence on the people.

As customers can be in any part of the world and can be active at any time of the day these executives are needed to work in shifts and the telemarketing facility should be available 24*7.

Apart from being functional round the clock they should should be in a position to respond to situations quickly and work in sync with other cross-functional domains to provide a reasonable solution to the customers.

The job can be really demanding and hence it is expected from them to be calm, patient and persistent because not only is the job challenging but the environment around them is also very competitive.

Not only are they expected to have the good communication skills but they should be technically adept, logical and innovative enough to please the customers and provide them with the new solutions.

A lot of parameters and domains are involved in the job of a telemarketing executive, so it is difficult to pinpoint the specific roles. But still keeping in mind these requirements their roles can be listed below: –

1. Convincing probable customers –

Expansion of the user base is the main ingredient of success and this can only be done if everyone is interested to be familiar about the product.

A lot of future customers can be converted to the business from the inquiry call that people make.

The job of these executives is to gauge the interest of the customers and convince them to buy the products.

Moreover, the potential customers that have been identified over a long period of time through extensive market research should also be converted to regular customers by these executives.

Automatically the agent who has the highest conversion rate becomes the best and most valued in the organization.

2. Preserve the present customers.

As much as customer acquisition is important for the business, customer retention is equally important.

Another important job of these agents is to advise the customer to stick to the present brand and not switch to the competitor’s brand.

Also, it is cost effective for a business to retain customers as it costs less than acquiring new ones.

Customer loyalty pays well to the business and so repeat business and preserving loyal customers will result in a prosperous business and brand growth.

A customer who has been loyal to your brand is seen as a sign of trust integrated with the vote of confidence.

So, these executives must ensure that not only are the new customers converted, but the feedback from the loyal ones reaches the company and they are satisfied with the brand.

This would require the agents to call the customers and get in touch with them to listen to their feedback’s, complains and problems.

Once heard, these problems should be addressed on priority to ensure happy and loyal customers.

3. Know the technology well and suggest the right product and service to the customers –

In this age of modern technology, any job or profession demands you to be tech-savvy and so does being an agent.

They will be exposed to a large amount of data through contact centers like the customer profiles, their buying history, likes and dislikes, product placements, etc.

A good agent will make use of all this data and plan a perfect customized suggestion for the customer.

Agents should be in the position to interpret this huge amount of data.

4. Document the transactions properly –

All the logs of activities and transactions in a call center must be documented and recorded for the future purpose.

This is necessary from a security point of view as well.

Agents working in a company are responsible to keep a log of every transaction that takes place so that they can be analyzed and viewed later if needed.

Storing data is useless, unless it is kept in a format that is readable and easy to search and reference.

5. Create and maintain database –

Almost every decision in the company is taken based on the data.

And records about the products and customers should be stored properly.

Product information, relevant dates, detailed information, units in store, prices and discounts, labels and affiliated products are all stored as the part of a database that must be maintained by the agents.

All the important details like, the information of the customer, buying details, requests and feedback’s should be stored in a database.

They are a very much important piece of information to the company to understand what are they doing right and what they did wrong.

Executives and agents are responsible for documenting and storing this data as they handle it on a day to day basis.

6. Highlighting specific problems in a team –

Everyone matters in a team and no individual can work alone and make a huge difference .

Agents should work in a team, as teamwork is one of the biggest assets .

They should always look at the bigger picture and keep their personal goals behind the collective goal of the team.

All the challenges faced in a team must be highlighted by them and they should be in a position to eliminate them and work towards a benefit of the team.

7. Ensure that day to day operations are maintained –

Every company has its own rules and protocols based on its philosophy and it is necessary to follow them to maintain the seamless functioning.

Agents should be aware that the call center they work is very crucial and a lot of activities goes in it.

Any wrong move will not only jeopardize the activity but also taint the company reputation.

Hence it is very much important that the agents do the right thing, remain punctual and discipline on calls and document whatever is needed and know the status of their performance indicators.

Once all of this is taken care of, operations will be automatically streamlined.

8. Keep themselves up to date with training –

There is always a new and better method of doing the same job available in the market.

Agents cannot afford to be unaware of their domain knowledge.

So, they need to be at par with the latest trends by attending workshops, seminars, and training which are designed for them or is related to their field of work.

This will not only help them stay a top performer in the company but also find better and innovative ways to fulfill the client requirements.

9. Understand and respond to feedback-

For agents or any employee for that matter you can improve your productivity and the way to work only after you know what you did right and what you did wrong .

And the best way to understand that is by collecting the feedback.

Through the gathered feedback from the customers, an agent can know the key problem areas and things to improve upon.

Apart from the customers, it is advised to take the same from the managers who keep a close eye on your individual performance and judge them based on the metrics defined by the company.

Implementing their suggestions will definitely help the agents to create more effective and innovative solutions for the customer’s problem.

10. Be well aware of the product –

Since the main job of the agent is to market the product, it is inevitable that they know about the details of the product or the service that the company offers so that any query that the customer has or any information he requires can be answered immediately by the agent.

Be well aware that the customers known agents are representing the company and its product, so their action can make or break the company’s reputation.

Not knowing about the product can actually prove to be negative for the company.

They must be up to date with the features of the products they are entrusted to sell.

What are some important things for a telecaller?

The next question to discuss are some of the important qualities for a telecaller or the things that they should keep in mind while working. We have mentioned some in the list below: –

1) Good Communication –

This is probably the most important trait in a telemarketing agent.

They should be able to pitch the product nicely and have a proper tone, be concise and respond promptly to the questions raised by the customers.

2) Patient listener –

Another important characteristic is to handle all types of customers with patience and perseverance.

As a telemarketing executive, you should be able to handle the clients properly, no matter how aggressive or monotonous it gets.

3) Sharp Retention skills and focus –

As a part of their jobs, it is required that an agent can memorize scripts, remember queries and client details.

So, they should be able to focus and retain a lot.

4) Multi-tasking –

Their job is not only to talk to customer representatives on call but also other day-to-day activities like logging daily reports and analyzing the data.

5) Target oriented –

Another major skill required is to keep in mind the target that has been assigned to them and make sure they achieve that within the specified timeline.

6) Confidence and positivity-

Since the agents are indirectly/ directly representing the company it is recommended that they keep a confident attitude and a positive state of mind to deal with the customers.

It is not easy to convince customers or to deal with queries or angry customers.

Having said all that, the list is not an exhaustive database and there are a lot of important characteristics or things that an agent has to keep in mind.

How do I arrange data for Telecalling & selling financial services?

An effective marketing campaign needs a strong telecalling service.

Unlike physical products, these have to be done in a separate way and there are a few pointers that should be kept in mind while collecting data for selling the financial services : –

1) Extensive Market research –

For financial research, you would need data from the bank, other financial institutions.

Like, for credit card services agents can call up the customers of both its own bank as well as its competitor and give them the details of the service.

2) Contact the right source-

Depending on the type of data you want, you can associate with the big names in the industry like Bloomberg or FactSet but they will be expensive.

If you are looking for free or cheap options then you can try Quandl which has made a huge impact in the industry.

3) Primary Data –

For prospects of the financial service clients, it is advisable that you interact with the clients first hand and let them give their suggestions and feedback on the type of service they want and would like to use.

These are some of the most common and easiest ways to collect data for the financial services.

How do I make more sales on telecalling?

Sales are the one and most important jobs of a telecaller and for that, we have to make sure that the employees are motivated enough to perform to the best of their ability. Here are a few tips: –

1) Well prepared –

Agents and telemarketing executives should be well prepared & should know the details of the product in and out.

They should be able to educate the client on all the features of the products and answer the client queries.

2) Motivation –

Your level of motivation will decide the confidence of the customer on your product, so it is expected from them to be confident and convince the client to buy their merchandise.

3) Don’t oversell –

Customers will know when the sales executives are flaunting their products way too much.

This can have a negative impact on the sales of the product.

So, it is only advisable that the agents are well trained and they know what to speak and how much to express in speech.

4) Set achievable goals –

Sometimes the agents or their supervisors set exceptionally high sales targets and since this is linked to the incentives and pay of the agents they tend to be under a lot of pressure and hamper their performance.

5) Make the results visible –

It is a good way to keep the agents motivated.

If they know how much customers they have been able to convert and where they stand compared to others, then it can provide healthy competition among the employees and it will in turn foster more productivity.

These are some of the tips and tricks that can be used to ensure that the telemarketing executives remain highly motivated and perform their best which will boost sales and generate more profit for the business.

What is the best way for a telecaller to pass gate-keepers (receptionists) for selling a software?

Sometimes it is the gatekeeper that can be the biggest hurdle for agents in reaching the potential clients.

It is necessary to deal with them strategically and with a lot of caution.

There can be a few ways by which this can be done: –

1) Act a friend –

The best way to bypass the receptionist and ask them to connect you with the client is, if you start posing as a friend.

The receptionist will only interrogate you if they get a feeling that you don’t know the client or you portray yourself as an agent. Try to act like a known friend or acquaintance and get past the gate-keeper.

2) Do not sell to the gate-keeper-

Sometimes in desperation of getting past the receptionist, the agent tries to sell the product or explain its features to the gatekeeper itself.

That will in no way be beneficial because even if the receptionist seems interested in your product as they do not have the decision-making power and they will in no way let you get past, as it is their job to stop telemarketing executives.

3) Build a relationship –

You two are not expected to become best friends but chances are that you will call again and so it is easier if you maintain a good relationship with the receptionist. Being enemies with them will make your life difficult.

4) Try for a voicemail –

If nothing works and the receptionist is making excuses of the client going for lunch or so, then request to leave a message on the DM so that you can at least leave a message about your product to the client.

Having said all that one thing , you must understand that the receptionist is doing its job and that you cannot afford to be anything but be polite with them.

What are the technologies a telecaller should know?

In this technologically fast-paced society, no profession can be free of the use of technology and hence it is all the way more essential that telecallers are adept in some of the key technologies that are directly related to their job like –

1) CRM – Every big company will now have a CRM solution that will inform the company about their potential customers and their buying habits.

As a telecaller executive whose job is to make sure that they understand the functionalities of the tool and they are able to extract important and meaningful data out of it.

2) Microsoft Office –

That is almost a minimum requirement for all telecallers to know on how to operate a computer and be proficient in all the Microsoft office software.

They have become more like a pre-requisite for any job these days and will eventually be of help to the telecallers as well.

3) Email and Internet –

Again more like everyone knows it these days but as a telemarketing executive you might have to communicate with your customer over the emails and many organizations have dedicated email tools installed like outlook, so it is tending that he or she should have a working knowledge of the application.

Since the main job of the telecaller is that they should be able to communicate well, so they are not required to be very much tech savvy but they are required to know the basics and there are many firms and institutes who would teach that to them.

Which company provides a genuine telecalling database in the Asia Pacific?

Telecalling database has become a very popular business these days.

And since almost every company these days maintain a separate unit of these customer service section it was quite natural that the demands for these database providers would increase.

The Asia Pacific has the largest number of consumers with a huge variety and a lot of companies have started providing these telecalling facility like: –

1) eGentic – A company founded in 2001 has a global presence and has bagged some of the big names in the corporate world as their clients.

Their business is to sell customer data to their clients based on their need. From telephone to email or even performance marketing, they have it all.

2) Data Strategy – Another company that specializes in providing data to the client.

They cater specifically to a B2B market and spans over the entire Asia Pacific.

From lead generation to data hygiene and marketing they will do it all for their clients and help them increase their business and reach to the potential customers.

They provide a comprehensive view of the spending and traffic details of different networks.

The data is well segmented for the user and the type of network they use and it will be easier for the client to customize the data based on the preference.

Specifically, designed query tool will be able to generate excel based files twice a year for the use of the business.

It is designed to provide network service and solutions providers, an easy-to-use and implement the tool that can help them understand the growth in different sectors and markets from the view of geography, type of user, type of network and so on.

If you understand the demand of data you would know that this is not an exhaustive list of companies but few among the many that could help you serve your purpose.

How are telecalling marketers getting our numbers?

As a consumer, you might not be enjoying receiving frequent calls from the telecallers and telemarketing executives.

Like everyone else, even you might have this question as to how these people get your numbers.

There is no specific way by which your number reaches the telecallers and it can happen in several ways like: –

1) Oversharing your number – If you have been giving your number every time you fill a lucky draw form, feedback form or even online registration, then chances are that your number is being shared with every probable client who sees you as a prospective customer.

2) Automatic Dialing systems – If you have ever received a call that did not have a human on the other side of it then it was probably an automatic system who was trying to guess active numbers by trying permutation and combinations and had a recorder on the other end.

3) Blindly accepting terms and services – If you have been blindly installing software or signing up on internet accounts using your phone numbers, chances are that the license agreement mentioned sharing your number for business purpose to third party and you have accepted it without giving the conditions a good look and hence your numbers have been shared across to the telecallers.

4) Web Crawlers – Try searching yourself on Pipl.com and you would understand the power of web crawlers who can access any public and private database to get the data about people and give it to the buyers.

They have literally killer privacy and have made all the data you can share anywhere across the internet available to the buyer who sees you as a potential customer.

5) Charitable organizations– We have all received calls from some NGO we might have shown interest in earlier who hunt us down to get more money from us.

Philanthropy has become a business as well and even they hire the telemarketing companies to demand money from you.

6) Automatic Number Identification – Any number that starts with 900, 800 or 888 are linked to such automatic identification devices and if you ever call them trying to reach a customer care executive chances are that they have noted and recognized your number and matched it with the digital presence that they have of you.

As scary as it sounds, the sole purpose of these gimmicks to get your number is to increase their business and provide you with new products and offers.

You have every right to refuse to share your number and you can also register for a DND with your telecom operator and save your valuable time if required.

Having said all that we cannot deny the fact that telecallers along with their modern and sophisticated Telecalling software cannot be ignored and they are one of the best bets a company or a business has, to increase their awareness and sales.

Telemarketing dialer system is getting more and more advanced and they are making it easier for the telecallers to do more calls at a shorter time and reach out to a larger audience.

Not just for big firms and business, Telemarketing software for small business is also very prominent and in demand these days.

Every business wants to find the call center software for themselves and make sure everyone in their target market is known about their product or service, so that they can acquire the new products.

In this era of cut throat competition if your rival relies on an outbound telemarketing dialer to expand their business and you do not, then rest assured that you are bound to fall behind in the race.

A lot of people complain of these telecallers intruding their privacy and wasting their time with useless sales talk but the truth is that this is not just a part of sales or marketing but has a much wider implication of customer relationship management.

To serve you better, it is important that the companies know your buying habits, preference or pattern and hence Telemarketing CRM is way more important than we give credit for.